McConnell: Trump Won’t Change The Republican Party

Ever since Donald Trump became the presumptive Republican nominee, many in the GOP who are skeptical of the New York billionaire have argued over whether or not they should get in line and support him.

Some, like former Louisiana Gov Bobby Jindal, have said Trump isn’t great but must be supported to stop Hillary Clinton. Others, like Dailywire’s Ben Shapiro, have said Trump cannot be supported because he is not a conservative and supporting him would forever tilt the Republican party to being more nativist and less conservative.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is clearly not one who is in the Shapiro camp.

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Appearing Tuesday on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, McConnell called Trump a “phenomenon” but said that he doesn’t believe his popularity will “change the Republican party in any fundamental way.”

McConnell pointed to the businessman’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees as proof of Trump being willing to stay within the bounds of what conservatives currently believe.

“I’m confident based on the list that he put out that this is going to be somebody that would [be], from my point of view, the right kind of choice for the country,” he said. “I don’t think the Republican party fundamentally is going to change.”

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McConnell thinks, if anything, the presumptive Republican nominee is helping bring new voters to the GOP.

“What he is helping us do is reach out to voters that have not lately voted for Republicans, and I think that could end up making him very competitive in November,” he said.

McConnell said it was up to House Speaker Paul Ryan whether or not he wants to get behind Trump. But for McConnell, the decision was made for him by the voters.

“My view is that Trump has earned the nomination because he went out and got the most votes, and we need to be respectful of the electoral process that has produced this nominee,” he said.

Some have wondered whether Trump’s high unfavorability numbers in the polls will have an adverse effect on GOP senators and House members running for re-election. For example, a poll out this week shows Trump tied with Clinton in the contentious state of New Hampshire, while the same poll has the state’s GOP incumbent Sen. Kelly Ayotte clinging to a one-point lead over Democrat Maggie Hassan.

McConnell, though, says he doesn’t know whether the “Trump effect” will be helpful or harmful for other Republicans running for office.

“What I do think is that Senate races are big enough to where you can paint your own picture,” he said. “And all of our candidates are going to be in a good position to run.”